Fountain pen



April 13, 1937.

W. LIVSEY FOUNTAIN PEN -Filed June l1, 1956 Patented Apr. 13, 1937 PATENT oFFlcE 2 amasar Y .FOUNTAIN PEN Y William Livsey, Liverpool, England Application Junell, 1936, Serial No. 84,752

i In Great Britain July 1, 1935 6 Claims. (Cl. 1Z0-46) This invention relates tofself-iilling fountain' pens with `more especial referenceto those in which, during the filling operation, compression of a rubber sac or reservoir is eiected by the lateral pressure of 'a flexible metal stripV which can be bowed vor buckled by endwise pressure.

Customarily, the endwise pressure is applied by manipulation of a smallplunger in the rear end of the pen barrel, the projecting portion of the 1U plunger being normally covered by a small removable cap, which requires to be removed and is liable to be mislaid in the filling operation. Various proposals have been made to eliminate this removable end capi, for example by screwthreading the projecting portion of the plunger and mounting the cap thereon so that itis un-` screwed preparatory to depression of the plung er during a filling operation, and the Vpresent invention has for its object to provide anA improved mechanism for actuating the spring presser `bar to ll the pen which can be'readily assembled and is convenient in use.

In accordance withl the present invention mechanism for actuating the spring presser bar comprises a flanged cylindrical plug adapted to be screwed into the rear end of the barrelrand a split or slottedplunger slidable in said plug and restrained against rotation therein by a cross member on the plug traversing the slot, the outer extremity of `the plunger being screwthreaded to mount a linger piece for operation of the plunger to actuate the presser bar and fill the pen. l

Complete removal of the iinger'piece from the plunger in use may be prevented in any appropriate manner, preferably by a headed screw in the plunger co-'operating with an internal abutment on the finger piece, the pitch of the screw in relation to that of the plunger being such that on 40 the finger piece being unscrewed along the plunger preparatory to the filling operation when the abutment contacts with the screw head, a lock nut action takes place.

` Preferably also the flanged plug is fabricated of metal and provides a rearwardly projecting cylindrical boss about which the linger piece slides, being screwed into abutment with the ange, except during filling operation, when it is `unscrewed along the plunger so that the latter may be actuated to flex the spring presser bar and compress the sac. Filling takes place on the finger piece being released when the sac returns to normal and the linger piece can be screwed back into engagement with the range on the screwed plug.

` The length of the headed screw, the Aend of which may be arranged to contact with the cross member onV llingby depression of the finger piece, forms a ready means of fixing the travel of the plunger, outward movement of which is limited as customary by a circumferential iiange engaging with the front end of the plug for the receipt of which flange a recess may be provided inthe front end or face of the screw plug.`

The invention will be further described with l0v reference to the v accompanying explanatory drawing which illustrates by way of example one embodiment thereof and in which Figs. l, 2 and 3 are longitudinal sections of a self-filling fountain pen equipped with the improved actuating mech- 15 anismf- Fig. 1 Vshowing the pen with its parts in a normal writing position.

VFig. 2 with the ringer piece retracted ready for the filling operation. 20

Fig. 3 with the plunger depressedby means of the finger piece during the filling operation.

Fig. 4 is the cross section on the line V-fiV of Fig. l, and

Fig. 5 is a detailed view to a larger scale of the 25 anged plug plunger and locking screw.

Referring now t0 the drawing, l generally designates the cylindrical barrel of the pen, and `2 the nib section tted in the front end of the barrel and mounting as customary the nib 3 and feed 4 30 at its outer end while its inner end carries the usual rubber ink sac or reservoir 5.

6 is the rigid presser bar and 1 the customary exible metal strip which is bowed or buckled by endwise pressure to the position shown in 35 Fig. Brwith the presser bar 6 collapsing the ink sac or reservoir 5.

The rear end of the pen barrel l is interiorily screw-threaded at 8 to mount a iianged cylindrical plug 9 preferably of metal having a flange 40 I0 in abutment with the barrel end when the plug is screwed home therein.

'I'he plug 9 has a circular bore slidably mounting a plunger Il which in the embodiment illustrated is furnished with a recess I2 at its inner 45 end receiving the end of the exible metal strip l and also a head I3 engaging the flanged plug 9 to limit the outward movement of the plunger.

As shown more clearly in Fig. 3, the inner face of the plug 9 is furnished with a circular recess I4 50 normally to accommodate the head I3 of the plunger.

For the actuation of the plunger Il a finger -piece I5 is provided conveniently constructed of the same or similar material to that of the pen 5.5

barrel I.

lll

The finger piece I5 is carried on a screw threaded split extension I6 of the plunger II which is restrained against rotation in the flanged plug 9 by a cross member I1. I8 is a head or locking screw of the extremity of the split extension of the plunger which serves to prevent the finger piece becoming detached when it is unscrewed along the plunger to the position shown in Fig. 2 ready for the filling operation.

To fill the pen, after unscrewing the linger piece I5 to the position shown in Fig. 2 and inserting the nib in the ink, the finger piece is depressed to the position shown in Fig. 3 so that the sac 5 is collapsed and the finger piece is then released with the nib still in the ink whereat the parts reassume the position shown in Fig. 2 and the ink is drawn up through the feedd to fill the reservoir 5. Thereafter the finger piece I5v is returned to the normal position shown in Fig. 1, being furnished with a depending sleeve portion I9 which then abuts with the flange I0 on the plug and provides a smooth continuation of the outer surface of the pen barrel I-.

In the embodiment illustrated, complete removal of the finger piece is prevented by means of the headed screw I8- co-operating with an abutment 20 in the form of an` internal annular projection, the bore of which provides the screw thread mounting the finger piece on the extension I6 of the plunger II. The pitch of the headed screw I8 in relation to that of the plunger IB- is preferably such that on the finger piece I5 being unscrewed along the plunger I6 preparatory to the filling operation when the abutment 20 contacts with the screw head, a lock nutA action takes place.

The cross member II traversing the slot of the plunger II may be a simple pin borne on the flanged plug 9 although in the embodiment illustrated it takes the form of a light bar wedged in notches on the rear outer face of the plug 9 by slight deformation of the met-al thereof, for instance by a swaging process.

The rear end of the finger piece I5 is shown closed by a screwed-in buttonY or plug 2| which can be removed when access to the mechanism is required for adjustment or inspection, the mechanism being bodily removable from the fountain pen if desired by unscrewing the cylindrical plug 9 which operation is facilitated by the provision of a recess 22 on the circumferentialsurface thereof and readily engageable by an appropriate tool.

It will readily be appreciated that the full stroke of the mechanism during the filling operation can be determined either by the abutment between the depending sleeve portion I9 of the finger piece and the flange I0 on the cylindrical plug or by the space between the opposed interior faces of the finger piece and plug before contact takes place the stroke being readily adjustable by means of washers (not shown) interposed between the head screw I8 and the plunger extension IB.

By the present invention, the improved mechanism for actuating the spring presser bars of self-filling fountain pens is provided which is cheaply manufactured, readily assembled as a unit for tment to the pen and which, being without loose parts, is extremely convenient in use.

What I claim isz- 1. Mechanism, for actuating the spring presser barA in a; self-filling fountain pen comprising a flanged cylindrical plug adapted to be screwed into the rear end of the barrel and a split or slotted plunger slidable in such plug and restrained against rotation therein by a cross member on the plug traversing the slot, the outer extremity of the plunger being screw-threaded to mount a finger piece for operation of the plunger to actuate the presser bar and fill the pen.

2. Mechanism for actuating the spring presser bar of a self-filling fountain pen according to claim 1, wherein the removal of the finger piece from the plungerin useis-prevented by the provision of a. headed screw in the plunger co-operating with an internal abutment on the finger piece.

3. Mechanism according to claim l, wherein the cross member traversing the slot in the plunger is a light bar wedged in notches on the rear face of the plug.

4. Mechanism according to claim l, including a locking screw for preventing the removal of the finger piece in use wherein the pitch of such screw in relation to that on the plunger is such as to provide a lock nut action when the finger piece is unscrewed.

5. Mechanism for actuating the presser bar of a self-filling fountain pen according to claim 1 wherein the flanged cylindrical plug with its plunger, finger piece and locking screw can be assembled as a unit and readily fitted as such to the pen body or barrel.

6. Mechanism forl actuating the presser bar of a self-lling fountain pen according to claim 1 wherein the front or inner face of the flanged plug is furnished with a recess normally accommodating a head provided on the inner end of the plunger to l'i'mit the outward travel thereof.

WILLIAM LIVSEY. 

